The newly refurbished Trinder Park Home Care Centre now offers day respite services through Commonwealth Home Support and through Home Care packages. You can come and check out the new offerings on Wednesday December 6, between 10am and 2pm.

Home Care Manager Deb Johnson said the new space, which is located on the Trinder Park Aged Care & Retirement Living campus at Woodridge, was a positive and homely environment.

“We have created a Zen garden where clients can sit and enjoy a relaxing waterfall and pond with fish, and enjoy the peace and serenity of the area,” she said.

“Other new features include a gardening space for those clients who have a green thumb.

“Best of all we now have a ‘one stop shop’ for all allied health requirements, including occupational therapy and physiotherapy podiatry and social work”

New programs such as exercise sessions focusing on strength and balance were growing in popularity, Deb said.

Next year there are plans to expand services to outings including lunches and craft/art therapy groups.

The services are open to people aged over 65 who are eligible for the Commonwealth Home Support Program or Home Care Packages.

Chat to Deb and the team about your eligibility on 07 3387 4929.

All Lutheran Services sites are fully open.  

With COVID-19 currently circulating in the community, we ask that visitors please remain vigilant. 

If you do visit any of our sites, we appreciate your support of the following visitor requirements: 

• Prior to entry, please complete the electronic health declaration (LoopSafe) 
• Please do not enter if you have tested positive to COVID-19 within the past 7 days or been a close contact with someone that has 
• Please do not enter if you have COVID-19 symptoms 
• We request that you complete a RAT within the 72 hours before entry – please ask at reception for a free RAT kit  
• Whilst visiting, wash your hands often and practice social distancing where possible 
• It’s highly recommended to keep up to date with your vaccinations 
• When on site, follow the instructions of our staff and wear a mask if required. 

Should any of our aged care sites have exposures or an outbreak of COVID-19, we will respond immediately with our Outbreak Management Plan and upgraded PPE will be put in place.  

Thank you for your support and cooperation as we continue to do all that we can to keep our residents and staff COVID-safe. 

There’s a font of wisdom just waiting to be tapped in our senior community.

Take the advice a group of Trinder Park aged care residents were happy to share to celebrate Queensland Seniors month, which runs until the end of October.

There are more than 875,000 people aged over 65 who call Queensland home.

With this number predicated to double by 2050, there has never been a better time to raise the visibility and voices of people as we age in Queensland.

Irene Scheermeijer has had some recent brushes with the curious bush turkey.

“Close your door or the bush turkeys will come in!” is her useful hint when you live so close to the bush as she does at Trinder Park.

David Gregory is a keen gardener – he keeps his garden covered from the turkeys.

To fund his plant purchases he recycles bottles.

“You can make heaps of extra pocket money by recycling bottles, I recently made a $110 dollars which I spent back into my garden,” he said.

Irene’s friend Noeline Gabolinsky has some basic – but oh so pertinent – advice: “Well, that reminds me of some great advice I received from an older lady where she said ‘just keeping taking air’.”

Daredevil Peter Hansen spent much of his youth stepping off high ridges, mastering air currents in a hang glider. His counsel is profound.

“If you find yourself upside down in a hang glider, just hang on tight and you’ll right yourself.”

Finally we hear from Vincent Manns: “The only good advice I’ve ever heard is ‘just put one foot in front of the other’. There’s lots of good advice out there but there’s no point unless you take notice of it.” Hear hear!

Residents and staff at Cooinda Aged Care celebrated their annual Spring Fair in colourful style. Guests were dressed in their brightest spring themed attire to mark the occasion.

Everyone enjoyed the warm sunny weather and clear blue skies.

There was something for everyone at the event, from classic cars, motorbikes and steam engines, to fair food, market stalls and live music. Some cute furry visitors also made a delightful appearance at the baby animal petting zoo, including a llama, goats and puppies!

Cooinda Aged Care staff got into the spring spirit, with some donning bee-inspired costumes during the Spring Fair festivities!

It was a great day and we are looking forward to next year’s event.

Orana’s newest Lutheran Chaplain wants everyone to know they are loved and special.

Jordan Bennett was ordained and installed as a Chaplain at Orana Aged Care & Retirement Living in August, witnessed by family, friends and Orana residents.

Jordan has filled the shoes of retiring Chaplain Michael Braunberger.

“I am very much looking forward to embedding myself further into the Orana community,” Jordan said.

“I can’t wait to make it my ‘home’ for many years. I am also looking forward to getting to know the residents even better and deeper, and figuring out new ways to love and serve them.”

Jordan has a message of love and service to share.

“There is no one spare in this world, we all have incredible value and are worthy of love, respect and loyalty,” he said.

“That is my goal as the chaplain here: that everyone would know that you are well and truly loved and wonderfully special.”

Jordan joins a team of Chaplains at Lutheran Services.

Lutheran Services provides chaplaincy services at all Lutheran Services 11 residential aged care services.

Chaplaincy services are available to all residents and their loved ones, of all religious affiliations or world views.

Our chaplains are a mix of ordained Lutheran pastors and lay people, men and women.

Jordan said he was honoured to hold the role.

“I honestly believe that anyone who wants to get into pastoral ministry needs to spend some time as a chaplain, in any industry,” he said.

“Because as a chaplain you get people from every walk of life imaginable and every kind of issue that goes with it. You learn very quickly that a) no one really cares what denomination you’re from and what your theology is, b) no one really wants to hear what you have to say, but they will watch you every minute to see if you live the values you claim, and c) being a pastor, or chaplain, or whatever, the title means nothing if you’re not willing to sit down in the gutter with someone and meet them where they are.”

Congratulations to Regina Huang, RN at St Andrews Aged Care, who is about to embark on a Graduate Certificate in Palliative Care thanks a scholarship from the Public Health Network Gold Coast. She is passionate about aged care and nursing. She started her career as a 15 year old! We are lucky to have you Regina.

“I work at Lutheran Services Aged Care in Tallebudgera on the sunny Gold Coast. I’ve been studying or working as a nurse since I was 15, and now I’m 30! I grew up in Taiwan and instead of going to a traditional high school I went to a boarding school for nursing. So nursing is 100% my passion. I graduated with a Diploma and have made my way up the ladder to become a Registered Nurse now. I’m really excited about a scholarship to do the Graduate Certificate in Palliative Care. In aged care, good palliative care is something so important – to the residents and also their family.

I’ve always been keen on learning. There’s been a lot of steps in becoming a Registered Nurse. But it’s funny being in management – being a Registered Nurse – sometimes it’s the small interactions that give you the real satisfaction and not the paperwork! I’ll give a resident their medication or pass them a cup of tea and they’ll give you this smile and say ‘thank you love’ and you just wish you could have this interaction all day.

But saying that, keeping on learning is important to me. I feel like I see where things can be improved and a great way to do this is just to be in a place you can influence things, improve people’s lives. I hope to be a nurse practitioner at some stage.

As I mentioned I went to a boarding school for nursing that was attached to a hospital. In a hospital, you receive the patients, they move onto the next stage and then they go home. Whereas in aged care, it’s the person’s home, so you feel there’s more positivity around that. We discuss care plans, residents choose the food they like and the activities they like to do. There’s just more happy decision making than in a hospital.

Being an aged care nurse is rewarding, as well as being challenging in a good way. You are very independent, you make a lot of decisions and if you need to, there’s a whole collaborative approach at hand. And you look after the whole person, which I love.

So when it comes to the end stages of life, those relationships you’ve built up are important. I got really inspired with some interactions I had with the SPACE team (Specialist Palliative Care in Aged Care) at Gold Coast University Hospital, which has a strong connection with the Gold Coast PHU (Public Health Unit).  The PHU is sponsoring my palliative care study. One subject I’m really looking forward to study is therapeutic communication because that conversation about death can be difficult. Because of my different cultural background, I do tend to observe that different cultures have different approaches, but I can certainly say most people have a reluctance to talk about death. Opening that conversation can be really powerful and make the next stage much better for everyone involved. People want to die at home and sometimes that home is in aged care. I still remember my grandma, the last thing she told my father was that she wanted to go home (from hospital) and die at home.

Many of our nurses and care staff at St Andrews – and across the industry too of course – are from different cultures, many from India and Nepal. So I am really looking forward to being able to share what I’ve learnt with my colleagues. My learning can be passed on, that is exciting.”

A very happy retirement to Immanuel Gardens‘ resident pooch, Nugget! The sweetest dog on the planet has found a new home within the village, and will now enjoy some much-needed time off! Residents and staff threw Nugget a little retirement party earlier this month.

Look what you find in the archives! TV actor Maurie Fields entertains the gals at Orana Aged Care in 1973. Maurie was taking a break from tele’s Bellbird when he visited Kingaroy. Oh to be a fly on the wall! Back in the day, he was one of our best known actors – Cop Shop, The Flying Doctors and Hey, Hey, It’s Saturday to name just a few gigs. Does this jog any memories of life on the box?

Sparks flew at Zion Aged Care this week as Aviation High School students and residents paired up for a speed dating session!

Lutheran Services Director of Chaplaincy & Ministry Development Rev Dr Russell Briese has written a tribute to Audrey Larsen, a unflagging fundraiser and early supporter of Zion Aged Care.

Zion Aged Care resident and founding committee member Audrey Larsen passed away peacefully on Tuesday 30 May, aged 88. Wife of the late Pastor David Larsen, Audrey was a tireless fundraiser and supporter of Zion and her church. Pastor David passed away in 2018. Audrey had lived at Zion since that time.

Audrey was one of Zion’s early pioneers and leading supporters. Her name is proudly displayed on the Zion Honour Board. But perhaps most proudly displayed of all is a 1980s photo of Audrey shaking hands with Prime Minister Bob Hawke. As the head of the Zion fundraising committee, Audrey had lobbied both State and Commonwealth Governments to develop what would become the Zion hostel and nursing home. The Prime Minister attended a ceremony to announce the funding at the site of the future Zion in Union Street Nundah.

Audrey was born in Toowoomba. Her family – the Wuerschings – were prominent members of the Trinity Toowoomba congregation. Audrey and David lived and worked in Queensland (including Brisbane) for many years before retiring to Toowoomba. Audrey was an active member of the St Paul’s Women’s Guild of Toowoomba. David served the LCAQD as Vice-President/Assistant Bishop and was a leader in Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). I had the pleasure of meeting Audrey and David on several occasions, including undertaking a semester of CPE under David’s leadership. As it happens, CPE is a base training that most of our chaplains would have undertaken. We all benefited from the wisdom and leadership of Audrey and David.

Pastor Ed Szabo, our newly appointed Chaplain at Trinder Park, had known Audrey since the 1980s, when he served as Vicar (pastor in training) under Pastor David at St Paul’s Nundah. Ed remembers Audrey as the archetypal pastor’s wife – humble and unassuming yet a tower of strength and support, devotion and dedication. Not to mention a sensational cook!

Gillian Reid, current Zion Chaplain, remembers Audrey in her latter days at Zion fondly – a kind and gentle lady who was loved by Zion staff and residents alike. Above all, Gillian remembers Audrey as a woman devoted to her Lord, who worked hard to fundraise and build Zion to serve the Nundah community. Gillian says Audrey will be dearly missed by all at Zion.

May she rest in peace and rise with Christ in glory.

There will be a memorial service on Saturday 17 June, St Paul’s Lutheran Church, Nundah, 10:30am.
A morning tea will follow the memorial service in the St Paul’s Lutheran Church Hall.